[RD] Exploring Japan

[warpus]

Should have skipped the alcohol to try and fit in more food.

I had a steak for dinner, some snacks, and then that beef at the end. I doubt I could have been able to fit in another full meal in there on my last day unless I was gorging. I was trying to use up most of my Japanese currency before returning home, and Golden Gai was still on my list.. and is a great place to drink

In the 1990s a group of Texans found a way to sneak 11 Akaushi red cattle out of Japan and began breeding them outside of San Antonio. The Akaushi meat is as good or better than the black wagyu. I visited their operation there in 2005 when they began to offer their meat to the public under the name Heartbrand Beef. You can buy it on line.

https://heartbrandbeef.com/heartbrand-difference/

Sneaky! I wonder how the quality actually compares. It's easy enough to make a claim like that, and it's one thing to get your hands on the breed.. but another to continue breeding the stock the same way as they do in Japan. I also noticed that the images they show on their website don't contain that much marbling in their steaks, or at least not nearly as much as in the steaks I ate in Japan. I wonder if that's just a marketing ploy.. I bet a lot of North Americans don't understand marbling and that you want more of it.. People might be put off by seeing the fat. I wonder if that means that their marketing material shows inferior steaks and they actually have the good stuff if you want it.. Or if they're simply modified the breed slightly so it's easier to market in North America? Either way, I wouldn't mind trying one of those steaks to compare

 

[Birdjaguar]

Sneaky! I wonder how the quality actually compares. It's easy enough to make a claim like that, and it's one thing to get your hands on the breed.. but another to continue breeding the stock the same way as they do in Japan. I also noticed that the images they show on their website don't contain that much marbling in their steaks, or at least not nearly as much as in the steaks I ate in Japan. I wonder if that's just a marketing ploy.. I bet a lot of North Americans don't understand marbling and that you want more of it.. People might be put off by seeing the fat. I wonder if that means that their marketing material shows inferior steaks and they actually have the good stuff if you want it.. Or if they're simply modified the breed slightly so it's easier to market in North America? Either way, I wouldn't mind trying one of those steaks to compare

When I had it in 2005, it was the best beef I had ever eaten. Still is.

 

[amadeus]

@warpus, if I missed something you had a question about or wanted something translated, let me know and I can keep the thread going.

 

[warpus]

Hmm I don't think there's anything, but thanks for the offer and all the previous things you've translated and helped to put in a more proper context!

 

[Cutlass]

Well done. Japan is a place I'm not likely to ever go myself. So it's interesting to see a little of it.

 

[warpus]

Thank you! Hopefully the thread was informative too. I learned quite a bit myself doing all the research as I was posting.. A lot gets missed as you're walking through these places

 

[Aiken_Drumn]

Well done. Japan is a place I'm not likely to ever go myself. So it's interesting to see a little of it.

I would highly recommend it! Why don't you think you'll ever visit?

 

[Cutlass]

I would highly recommend it! Why don't you think you'll ever visit?

My comfort zone for travelling alone is more or less where I can get to with my car. And I have no one else to travel with. Warpus is comfortable with very long solo trips, that I'm not.

 

[Aiken_Drumn]

Fair enough. You could always go with a group package tour guide thingy, but I understand those can get expensive fast!

 

[Snowygerry]

@warpus, if I missed something you had a question about or wanted something translated, let me know and I can keep the thread going.

Not really a question, but a fun little fact that made the local news here :

https://www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/241903/woman-living-in-leuven-elected-to-be-mayor-in-japan

Satoko Kishimoto, a woman who has lived in the Flemish city of Leuven with her family for over ten years, has been elected mayor in Suginami, a district in Tokyo, Japan.

Kishimoto has Japanese roots, but has been living with her husband Olivier Hoedeman and her two children in the Kessel-Lo district of Leuven for over a decade now. Still, she has always maintained strong ties with her homeland.

 

[amadeus]

Not really a question, but a fun little fact that made the local news here :

https://www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/241903/woman-living-in-leuven-elected-to-be-mayor-in-japan

Apparently she defeated the incumbent by a margin of 190. The city itself has a population over 500,000.

Tokyo News: 現職の田中さんは、自民、公明の都議や区議の応援を受けたが、緊急事態宣言下の昨年７月に群馬県のゴルフ場に出張していた問題が批判され、支持離れを招いた。

While the current mayor Tanaka had the support of LDP and Komeito Tokyo assembly members and local city officials, support cratered after appearing at a Gunma prefecture golf club during last year’s state of emergency.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Moderator Action: This is not a Japanese News thread. It is a thread by @warpus on his trip to Japan. Unless Warpus wants to open it up to topics unrelated to his travels, please use other threads to continue the chatter. Thanks.